"A place where people can grab dinner, have a drink and catch a show, all under one roof." That is how Kipp Gstettenbauer, project lead with Carlsbad Theatre LLC, described his hopes for the old Carlsbad Theatre after his company's purchase closed on Tuesday, Sept. 22, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. So far it is a goal, and the building's use hasn't been decided. Up the street, at the northwest corner of Carlsbad Village Drive and State Street, the shipping-container plaza where Choice Juicery and Crackheads operate is in a similar spot. A plan to replace it has cleared the Planning Commission, but City Council has not voted.
Both corners sit on State Street, the stretch of the Village with the fullest October and November calendar. This fall you can see a play, shop the Wednesday market and catch the Street Faire within a few hundred feet of two sites whose futures are still open. Meanwhile, the Village's newest businesses have opened a block or two away.
The theater: sold, with its use still being decided
The building has a long history. It opened in the 1920s showing the silent film "It," starring Clara Bow. It has about 300 seats and has been empty since 2019. RAF Pacific Group bought it in 2017 and looked at several options, but none went forward. The property was for sale for much of the time it sat empty, which raised local worries that it could be torn down for new development.
The sale didn't come out of nowhere. A group called Save the Carlsbad Theatre formed in 2023 and tried, without success, to lease the building. In July, Council member Melanie Burkholder asked city staff to look for ways the city could help preserve it, and the full council backed her. As that work started, city officials learned that a potential buyer was already in talks with the previous owner.
"For 99 years, the Carlsbad Theatre has been the cultural heart of our town," said Nate Larson, one of the group's organizers, who said he hopes the building "will continue to serve the community as it always has, as a theater."
The new owners say the next steps are getting permits and finding a tenant to build out the space. The exact use, tenant mix and day-to-day operations will be worked out through the city's entitlement process. They have also said they will work with local groups, including the Boys & Girls Club of Carlsbad and the Carlsbad Community Theatre. Both groups are long-established. The Boys & Girls Club has had its Village clubhouse on Roosevelt Street since 1952. The 43-year-old Community Theatre stages its shows outside the Village, at the Community Cultural Arts Center at Carlsbad High School on Lancer Way.
The theater's location shapes what it could become. It is half a block from the Coaster station and directly across the street from New Village Arts, which runs a 100-seat theater and a 60-seat cabaret in a renovated hardware and lumber building it leases from the city. If the old theater returns to live entertainment, that block of State Street would have stages on both sides.
The container plaza: recommended, not approved
The second corner is smaller, at 0.17 acres, and the debate over it is older. The project, called Carlsbad Village Square, has been in the works for more than a decade. The current version calls for a four-story building with seven condominiums, including one deed-restricted for a low-income household, over ground-floor retail. In 2018, City Council rejected a five-condo version on the same lot. Council found it out of keeping with the surrounding buildings, which are all one and two stories. Since then, new state housing laws have changed the review.
On Aug. 5, the Planning Commission voted 6-1 to recommend that City Council approve the project. Commissioner Kiley Fitzgerald voted no, citing the lack of parking for people with disabilities. Other commissioners said current state housing law leaves the city no choice. Commission Chair Roy Meenes spoke of frustration "with the imposition of the state of California in regard to the housing and the impact it's having on our Village."
Because the site is within half a mile of the Carlsbad Village Coaster Station, state law would allow the project to waive all parking, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. The applicant still plans nine spaces for residents and has asked to waive only the commercial parking requirement. Eight of those spaces would be in four garages, each with a hydraulic lift that stacks one car above another. The lot was a gas station and auto service center from the early 1920s until the mid-1980s. City community development director Mike Strong said the underground fuel tanks were removed in 1998. He also said soil samples taken 16 feet down showed no contamination at a level that would require more cleanup.
As of today, Sept. 30, no Council date has been set. A FOX 5 update on Sept. 26 said the proposal will go to City Council for discussion but gave no hearing date. The city's meeting list shows regular Council meetings on Oct. 6 and Oct. 20, with Oct. 27 canceled. None of them lists Village Square. The August and September coverage includes no comment from Choice Juicery or Crackheads about their plans. In early 2024, the developer told The Coast News he was discussing whether the current tenants might keep operating in the new building. For now, the plaza, with its plank decks, artificial turf and outdoor seating, is still open at one of downtown's busiest intersections.
Where the new openings actually landed
While those two corners wait, the year's new businesses have opened a few blocks away.
- Barons Market, 2800 Roosevelt St. This is the Poway-based, family-owned grocer's first Carlsbad store and its 10th in the region. It held a neighbor preview on June 25 and opened to the public by the end of June, with prepared foods and an outdoor patio.
- Carlsbad Village Books, 640 Grand Ave. Opened July 2 with new and used books, gifts, board games and crafts, plus Marla's Coffee in the same space.
- Little Kiki Katsu & More, 2958 Madison St., Suite 101. Soft-opened June 15 under co-owners James and Jenny Pyo, with a focus on premium katsu and sake. Eater San Diego's Sept. 3 update still lists it among recent openings and names the group behind Harumama and Blue Ocean as the operator.
Roosevelt, Grand and Madison all opened something new this year. On State Street, the year's news has been about who owns the buildings and what may replace them.
The fall calendar, block by block
The fall programming still centers on State Street, which puts the two pending sites close to almost everything on the calendar.
At New Village Arts, 2787 State St., across from the theater. Niels Lund performs "Becoming Leonard Cohen," a tribute show, this Sunday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. at the Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center. Shakespeare's As You Like It runs Oct. 16 through Nov. 29, and the Carlsbad Village Association lists opening night as Oct. 24.
At 2970 State St., between Carlsbad Village Drive and Grand Avenue. The State Street Farmers' Market runs Wednesdays from 2:30 to 7 p.m., including Oct. 7, 14, 21 and 28 and Nov. 4. That puts it on the same block as the container plaza.
Across the Village. Taste of Carlsbad Village on Thursday, Oct. 8, has already sold out, and the association says tickets went in 33 minutes. Halloween in the Village runs Saturday, Oct. 31, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with trick-or-treating, carnival games and a costume contest. Contest sign-ups open at 11:30 a.m. at Village Faire Shopping Center, 300 Carlsbad Village Drive, and judging runs from noon to 1 p.m. The free Carlsbad Village Street Faire follows the next day, Sunday, Nov. 1, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The two dates closest to the decisions. The Carlsbad Village Association's Village Voices community meeting is Nov. 10, from 8 to 9:30 a.m., at the Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center, and the association's listing says residents are welcome alongside business owners. Small Business Saturday follows on Nov. 28, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The association has a celebration and scavenger hunt planned and is considering the Village Faire courtyard as the venue.
The Nov. 10 meeting will take place across State Street from the theater. By then, the theater's new owners may have started the city's entitlement process, and Village Square may have a Council date.
At Crown & Coast Properties, we follow how changes like the theater sale and the Village Square vote shape the blocks around them. If you own near State Street and want to talk through what these two corners could mean for your street, book a consultation with Christian or Sam.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
